New Port Mann Bridge could partially open as early as next month

METRO VANCOUVER -- Drivers may be able to access a few lanes of the new $3.3-billion Port Mann Bridge as early as September — and, if so, they will be able to cross for free until the crossing officials opens at the end of the year.

Max Logan, spokesman for the Port Mann/Highway 1 project, said he expects some of the bridge lanes to be open this fall, which would allow an easier transition from the old bridge onto the new one, while providing more space for construction crews finishing work at either end of the bridge, including the Cape Horn Interchange in Coquitlam and Surrey's 160th and 152nd Street off-ramps.

Details still have to be worked out, Logan added, but the likelier scenario is that eastbound traffic will be shifted to the new bridge first, although it's not known if it will be a few lanes or all of them. Logan said phasing in traffic on the new bridge, rather than having all traffic shift over on one day or a weekend, would likely result in fewer disruptions to drivers and traffic when the new bridge opens in December.

He added the $3 toll will likely be waived until December, when the bridge will open with eight lanes and drivers will see more time savings, some as significant as an hour return. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom said the toll may also be reduced until the remaining two lanes are finished are 2013.

Meanwhile, Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender said a priority is to ensure rapid bus is running over the bridge when it opens. The project has been postponed until TransLink figures out how to pay for it.

The old bridge must still be decommissioned before the last two lanes can be connected with Highway 1 in 2013.

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